BlackBerry CEO: We won’t make $50 phones

While BlackBerry prepares lower-cost devices for the emerging markets like India and Indonesia, it has no plans to compete in the entry-level segment, offering devices that cost as little as $50. According to the company’s CEO Thorsten Heins, it’s important to understand where you are playing and resist being talked into segments that you know will not serve your purpose and will not result in shareholder value. He added: “You will not see us getting into the 50-, 60-buck phone segment. This is not BlackBerry.”

And BlackBerry doesn’t need that market apparently, as its India subsidiary managed to move five days’ worth of inventory in just two days. This is despite the fact that users can only buy an unsubsidized Z10 for 43,490 rupees, which translates into roughly $800.

The Canadian company is now more focused on Asia where its devices sell much better than in developed markets of Europe and North America. However, that doesn’t mean they don’t want these users as well — quite the contrary, we’re expecting new LTE-enabled BlackBerrys to be released later in the year.

In the meantime, we’re still not sure what to think of BlackBerry’s efforts which may or may not prove enough to stay relevant in this ever competitive market…